384 Cucurbitaceae 



Family 93. CUCURBITACEAE. GOURD FAMILY. 



Herbaceous vines, climbing or trailing by means of 

 tendrils, with alternate petioled leaves, and solitary or 

 racemose monoecious or dioecious flowers. Calyx-tube 

 adnate to the ovary, its limb usually 5-lobed. Petals 

 usually 5, inserted on the limb of the calyx, separate or 

 united. Stamens mostly 3, 2 of them with 2-celled 

 anthers, the other with a 1-celled anther ; filaments 

 short, often somewhat united. Ovary 1-3-celled ; style 

 simple or lobed ; ovules few or numerous. Fruit a pepo, 

 indehiscent or rarely dehiscent at the summit, or burst- 

 ing irregularly. Seeds usually flat. 



Flowers yellow, large; fruit indehiscent, smooth. 1. CDCURBITA. 



Flowers white or greenish, small; fruit dehiscent at summit, prickly. 



2. MlCRAMPELIS. 



1. CUCURBIT A L. 



Rough prostrate vines, rooting at the nodes, with 

 branched tendrils, usually lobed leaves which are often 

 cordate at the base, and large yellow axillary monoecious 

 flowers. Calyx-tube campanulate, usually 5-lobed. Co- 

 rolla campanulate, 5-lobed to about the middle, the 

 lobes recurving. Staminate flowers with 3 stamens, the 

 anthers linear, more or less united. Pistillate flowers 

 with 1 pistil ; ovary oblong, with 3-5 many-ovuled pla- 

 centae ; style short, thick ; stigmas 3-5, each 2-lobed, 

 papillose ; staminodia 3. Fruit large fleshy, with a 

 thick rind, many-seeded, indehiscent. 



1. C. foetidissima H. B. K. (CALABAZILLA or MOCK-ORANGE.) 

 Stems stout, rough, hirsute, trailing to a length of 2-5 m. ; root 

 very large, carrot-shaped; leaves ovate-triangular, cordate or 

 truncate at the base, acute at the apex, 1-3 dm. long, denticulate, 

 usually slightly 3-5-lobed, rough above, canescent beneath, on 

 stout petioles, 8-15 cm. long; peduncles 2.5-5 cm. long; flowers 

 mostly solitary ; corolla 7-10 cm. long; pepo globose, 5-10 cm. in 

 diameter, smooth. 



Frequent on dry sandy soil throughout our range. 



